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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Tribeca Film Acquires North American Rights to LISTEN UP PHILIP, Starring Elisabeth Moss and Jason Schwartzman

Can I tell you something? I'm a little obsessed with Elisabeth Moss right now. You may remember a few months ago I gushed over her quirky little indie movie, The One I Love. And I think her work on Mad Men perfectly complements Jon Hamm's magnetic performance. The one thing I couldn't really get into is Top of the Lake (and I tried).

After The One I Love comes to limited theaters on August 15, the Golden Globe-winner can next be seen alongside Jason Schwartzman in the Alex Ross Perry-directed Sundance film, LISTEN UP PHILIP. Tribeca Film announced on Monday that it just acquired North American rights to the film, which also stars Krysten Ritter, and will release it beginning on October 17 (with video-on-demand platforms following on October 21). Check out the synopsis of the film below:

A complex, intimate, and highly idiosyncratic comedy, Listen Up Philip is a literary look at the triumph of reality over the human spirit. Anger rages in Philip (Jason Schwartzman) as he awaits the publication of his sure-to-succeed second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley (Elisabeth Moss), and his indifference to promoting his own work. When Philip’s idol Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce) offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject — himself.

And I kinda loving Perry's quote from the press release about the acquisition, candid about the challenges of independent film but also genuinely thankful:

"Life isn't full of easy answers or situations where things are wrapped up in a neat little package, and I set out to make a film that reflects this. That scared some people. Tribeca Film has proven themselves fearless by partnering with us for the release of Listen Up Philip. In this day and age, distribution for independent films is a real broken system, probably worse than it has ever been. So it is incredibly exciting to be working with people who actually care not only about 'movies' and 'stories' but about honest to god Cinema, I mean serious Cinema that leaves audiences heavier. They've put their support behind me and this film and they believe in it in a way that I hope will allow Listen Up Philip to be seen by as many people as possible," said Alex Ross Perry.

You may remember that Perry won the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award (with writer Carlen Altman) for his 2011 comedy, The Color Wheel (which I haven't seen). Which means he has his indie film street cred.

Also, I've always found Schwartzman to be an...interesting actor, to say the least. He's a bit unconventional, which should make him a good fit for this kind of role. But I am most intrigued to see what Moss and Ritter will bring to the project.

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Writer for hire, Lover of Snark, Former editor at Essence Magazine and Co-Host of the podcast, "Cinema in Noir".
I am mostly freelance writing right now, more so than blogging. You can find my work on The Mary Sue, Vice, Harper's Bazaar, Hello Beautiful, Thrillist, Birth.Movies.Death, and /Film. (https://www.clippings.me/candicefrederick)
I am also a member of the Online Film Critics Society, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and LAMB (Large Association of Movie Bloggers). My aim for this blog is to write honest, compelling film reviews and commentary that highlight my perspective on film, TV and diversity in pop culture.